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I was recently asked by Cardiff’s Milgi Lounge to draw on their front window. Every few weeks they invite an illustrator to create an eye catching mural to grab the attention of punters, passers-by and drivers waiting for the lights to change at the junction. My drawing coincides with Roath’s Made in Spring Festival. Inspired by my recent trip to Sweden (in which we travelled over 1000 kilometres by train from Stockholm to the Arctic), and the film The Darjeeling Limited, I decided on a train which had been taken over by a gang of jovial animals. The picture of James McAvoy on my fridge may have influenced a certain Mr. Tumnus the faun also joining in the fun.

These photos show inspiration, planning, details and then the finished mural.

Go and visit it in the next fortnight or so if you’re in the area!

Dala Horse Mugs: now available to buy online

Following a successful launch day at the Art Carbootique, the Dala Horse mugs are now available to buy online. In bright orange and teal, they are a cheery addition to your kitchen, desk and coffee table. £7.00 + p&p: click here to visit my e-shop.

A week ago I was asked to design some lino-cut wallpaper for Milgi Lounge, to be printed on a series of large boards as a repeat pattern. Here’s the finished stencil, ready to be printed (what turned out to be over 400 times!) over the weekend. The running greyhound (Milgi) and it’s accompanying birds give the piece some movement, whilst curious trees with faces hover around some remote cabins.

Below is the tried and many times tested printmaking technique, in which you ink up the print and stand on it to up the pressure….most of the prints are in brilliant green (which has washed off everything bar my hands)!

The maroon colour was then added to fill in some random gaps left, and the use of this darker tone has brought out the detail of the print very nicely.

And here’s are the 6 boards in all their printed glory:

They will be mounted onto the Milgi Lounge outdoor canopy walls later this week and installed for the bank holiday markets / events at the weekend. Do come and have a look if you’re in the area.

Following all that printing, the lino is very battered but there’s enough life left in it to print some tiles individually onto paper as a limited edition run. These will be on sale in Milgis – or do let me know if you’d be interested in getting one….

Two links, related to the image above:

1. Free Cabin Porn. Yes, that’s right – a website devoted entirely to photographs of remote and beautiful cabins! Fits in wonderfully with my fascination for all things Scandinavian. I’ve been drawing quite a few cabins including the little ones in this lino print – there is something so mesmerising about the way they enable you to be cosy, enclosed, protected – in such a massive expanse of weather, mountains and forests.

Below is an example of the exquisite photography. The cabins are submitted by all kinds of people: this image has been submitted and photographed by Tim Sengstock, of a brightly painted structure in the Melrakkasletta Region, Iceland.

2. Here’s a tutorial for designing a repeat pattern that was very useful when planning the piece for Milgi – it enables you to design a tile that, when repeated, joins the images together. It’s just a case then of matching them up properly! I look forward to trying out some more tessallating ideas.

I would write more but I’m shattered after a weekend of non-stop printing, which reminds me to give a huge shout out to my Matthew who helped enormously with the job!

Next up – forthcoming markets, trip to Paris and an exciting new collaboration just begun, coming soon…